Michael Short

Conservation planning attempts to regulate the rate and direction of physical change in historic environments through a framework of policies and controls that not only protect it from inappropriate change, but seeks its enhancement. This chapter focuses on how one element of the historic environment – green infrastructure – is crucial to defining the character of place which is then protected through this regulatory framework. Using the example of Vancouver, the chapter outlines how a robust conservation planning system has evolved which recognises the role of the natural environment in the city’s unique planning system. It explores the relationship between a well-defined narrative of green infrastructure protection and enhancement, with a proposal for a tall building – the Shangri-La tower – that was assessed utilising the city’s regulatory framework. The outcome has provided much needed development in a way that recognises and augments the character of the city.